Guide spacer for slide doors



Dec. 23, 1958 A. cox 2,865,043

GUIDE SPACER FOR SLIDE 0003s Filed Dec. 20. 1954 Cox,

IN V EN TOR.

ARTHUR United States Patent GUIDE SPACER FOR SLIDE DOORS Arthur Cox, Pasadena, Calif.

Application December 20, 1954, Serial No. 476,210

1 Claim. (CI. 16-90) The present invention relates to a guide spacer for use with sliding doors of the type which may be installed in building structures of any character for the purpose of preventing binding of the door and allowing the door to move easily to open or close an opening, such as a doorway. It is a common experience with slide doors that the door will enter a frame positioned between the walls of a building, but movement outwardly from said frame to close a doorway is sometimes difiicult, due to a swinging of the door and a binding thereof against the door jambs. This may result from numerous causes, such as an improper spacing of the door jambs, or warping of the door jambs if the dwelling is of any age, or from other causes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a guide spacer which assures that the door jambs are at all times properly spaced apart and that the door will move between said jambs without any weaving or swinging movement, to the end that the door glides smoothly in the center of the door receiving pocket. Thus, the door paint is not scuffed or the door otherwise marred upon moving the same.

The invention includes a device which is simple of structure, inexpensive in cost of manufacture, easily installed, and efficient in actual use.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a framing for a slide door, said framing incorporating the invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view'showing a portion of the framing with the invention installed between two jamb members of said framing,

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the guide spacer of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, I have shown in Figure 1 a type of framing which may be utilized for the hanging of a slide door. This framing includes a face jamb 1, a pair of spaced apart jambs 2 and 3, between which the door is adapted to pass, the remaining portion of the framing providing a pocket for the door. The header is 2,865,043 Patented Dec. 23, 1958 shown at 4 and within the header is positioned a track of some character. As a rule, wheeled trucks ride on the track, which trucks suspend the door. Said wheeled trucks are generally called door hangers.

The present invention is adapted to be positioned between the jambs 2 and 3, as indicated for the guide spacer at 5. As a rule, the guide spacer and blocks, such as shown at 6, are secured to the sub-floor. The guide spacer assures a proper spacing of the jambs 2 and 3.

The guide spacer may be stamped from a sheet of metal to provide the device shown in Figure 4, the resulting stamped device providing two aligned and equal sized channel members 7 and 8, each channel member having sides 9 and 10 and a connecting top piece 11, the top piece being interrupted to provide for extensions of the sides 9 and 10, with the two members 7 and 8 separated at 12 so far as the sides are concerned, with an upstanding transverse tongue 13 in substantially right angular relationship to the top pieces 11, and of a length greater than the width of the tops. The tongue is formed by returnedly bending an intermediate portion which joins the tops 11. Both the tops and the extended sides may be provided with holes 14 through which nails or screws may be passed for securing the spacer to the jambs.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention are as follows:

The side extensions are adapted to engage sides of each jamb and to be nailed thereto, as shown in Figure 3, at 15. The inner edge of each jamb is brought against the outer edge of each top 11 and the length of said tops determines the spacing between the jambs. The tongue 13 lies intermediate the two jambs. The door to be guided by the spacer is provided with a bottom groove extending the lateral dimension of the door for reception of the tongue 13. Thus, the tongue guides any movement of the door within the pocket of the framing, or to close the doorway, with the result that the door does not swing on its wheeled trucks or hanger, nor strike the sides of the jambs.

I claim:

A guide spacer as disclosed, including a pair of aligned channel members, each having a top and parallel side members, the side members of which are extended beyond the top, and a tongue, at least as wide as the tops, and formed from abutting extensions of the contiguous ends of the tops, which project normal to the surface thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 613,262 Gadbois Nov. 1, 1898 666,918 Butz Jan. 29, 1901 2,087,867 Balduf July 20, 1937 2,145,496 Reinhard Jan. 31, 1939 2,564,968 Forgette et a1. Aug. 21, 1951 

